Don Deleva Art

My name is Don DeLeva, I am a Seattle based artist. I work mainly in acrylic on wood panel. My art vacillates between POP Surrealism and abstraction mainly focusing on portraits and the visualization of personality and perspective. Recently, I have been bringing both styles together to create a fuller more vibrant image. This site is dedicated to the ideas that inspire my work art. Thank you for visiting.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Candy Breath is a first attempt to bring both my Pop Surrealist and Abstraction tendances together.
As you view the painting you can start to see cartoonish features blend into realistic features that are abstracted and then disappear. I do this give the impression of a personality changing as mood changes and conversation ebbs and flows.

Friday, September 8, 2017

I started painting on wall paper, this is on Silver Mylar it's more of an experiment. At work I have access to so many types of surfaces that I decided to start taking advantage of the scraps and recycling bins.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

MeBot and Timmy are two characters I have been panting for a while now. They have been in many abstracts It's only now that I have painted them on their own.

MeBot : Acrylic on wood, 6x6

Timmy : Acrylic on wood, 6x6

This Idea of an Alphabet

This morning while painting an abstract I started to realize that it might help people understand my more complicated work if I paint my characters in a non abstract way. Kind of like sounding out letters phonetically until you understand how to pronounce a word. This is how I understood how to listen to noise music.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

I was reading "The Doors of Perception " by Aldous Huxley during the painting of this work.
One does not need to be under the influence of mind altering substances to understand the malleability of reality and how we consistently change our perception of the now to assess and comprehend our present.

My art de-focuses focal point in order to challenge the viewers perception of what they are looking at. My paintings are meant to "visually change" as moods, sounds and environment change.
The work is not so much about the image, but more about the perception of the viewer.
My goal is to get the viewer to actually "see" themselves think.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

This painting brings me to a place in my work that is easy to criticize. It's a cat dressed in a jacket...

Why do I feel the need to explain this?
One, I painted it as a gift.
Two, I have a cat and yes I think she is cute as hell.
Three, I have come to a place in my 30 years of painting that I am done with the critics in my head and hands.

I just want to paint. I have only about 15 to 20 years left and I just want to paint and promote it the way that is most comfortable to me.

Maybe you get to a place in your life that you realize the things that are truly you are the most powerful for you.
For example, I would much rather be painting then socializing. I think this has been a major component in why my work is not more commonly known.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

About the title:
This painting depicts a young woman cautious, intrigued and excited seconds before she exchanges her first words with an attractive stranger.

Cool Defiance:

Clubbing on a Thursday night is dedication to the scene.
Pulsing music, cutting edge fashion, faces cool, mind in trace.
She has seen him before, watching her dance but he never comes over just slants there and stares

" There is something different about that guy..."
Slightly scared she slinks outside.
Seconds later he appears through the door, glancing both ways she is leaning against the wall.
In a cool defiant pose her heart skips a beat, all shields up seconds before they meet...

Story __________________________Rain is coming down on the streets, gold, green and red flash in the intersections.LD is done with this brown trout chasing her like a fishing lure." I don't know how many times I need to tell you to back off GreyGrave !" LD warns him. " For the 69th time...BACK OFF !"GrayGrave's deaf eyes roll from the asphalt to her face, watching her press a slim cigarette between her lips.She leans up against the wet, multi-colored brick wall in a poetic kind of way, you know when you grope for Luna.

I had this thought in the shower as piping hot water was running down my back, what if the earth invented and evolved human kind to build the planet in to a sentient being with concrete, glass and iron as armor against stray asteroids.

Now picture a story based on this premise as a future religion where the desecration of nature is the goal. The belief is that every inch of the earth should be covered in asphalt buildings, concrete steal and glass. Biohumans are obsolete since the depth of their knowledge has reached a bottom point.The earth is the real being not it's inhabitants.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Hear is the newest Skateboard,Title: Power Suit, Acrylic on Skate Deck, 41 x 11 x .35 . 10/2016. She fights everyday, puts her soul into her work. Strong, knows how to get what she wants, she has earned her "Power Suit" climbed the ladder and become a leader.

She is a strong woman comfortable in her womanhood. "While an exposed breast in public can have many associated connotations, some women in America today argue the exposed breast is a symbol of liberation. They speak against the proposed notion that their rightful place was below their male counterparts. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toplessness , "As a form of liberation." Along with the tie, I painted her breasts as a symbol of her equality, liberation and strength in the business world.

Fighting Ghosts, Acrylic on skate deck, 31" x 8" x .25", 10/2016 SOLD

I have been painting skateboards now for about 6 months. I have created about 8, they have been fun but it seems maybe they have run their course.

My printing job allows me the opportunity to do a lot of self reflection, watching prints pass in front of you and roll up on a take up core for hours on end can be quite challenging if you don't have anything to think about or if you lack an imagination.

Anyway, my point is after a lot of thought and revaluation of my last 3 years of art I have realized my painting direction lacks a focus. While skateboards were fun I realized that for my work to be more effective I should focus more on the message then the medium. SOLD

Saturday, December 3, 2016

RUN TO THE HILLS !!! Iron Maiden. I painted this board in the same spirit of the song. " Murder for freedom a stab in the back" , "Selling them whiskey and taking their gold, enslaving the young and destroying the old! ". War is a tool used to impose a “Divine call” to action. The call itself is a tool of propaganda. This deck is about that propaganda and how it is used to convince the masses these actions are justified by the divine.

This board is neither an anti-war nor a pro-war statement. It is just a reminder of how we justify our actions. Created 11.16.2016